Saving Lionheart
by IsileeGilbert
Summary: Sometimes all it takes to find the path is a little light from a bright star. [ON HIATUS]
1. Lapsus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of the characters. I would like to be friends with J.K tho :)**

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 **Chapter 1 : Lapsus**

She was quite sure she had told herself she never wanted to get on the back of one ever again. And yet, here she quite was, standing beside Kingsley — her partner for the mission — with her heart pounding loudly in her ears, eyebrows pinched into a frown, teeth worrying her bottom lip, glowering at the back of the Thestral. Kingsley started striding towards the Thestral, his movements jerky, and Hermione could sense the anxiety coming off him in waves, much as he tried to retain his calm façade.

She heaved a sigh, resigned, and quickly glanced around for Harry (the real one, of course; she knew his mannerisms well enough to easily pick him out from the other six Harry-lookalikes).

Muttering under her breath, "For Harry…do it for Harry", she made her way to the Thestral's side where Kingsley was already seated and ready, and did her best not to jostle it too much as she scrambled to sit atop it, with Kingsley firmly gripping her forearm to help her up behind him. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and Hermione was rather certain now that this was never something she wanted to get used to.

Somewhere amidst the bustle as all seven Potters and their partners hurried to ready themselves, Moody's gruff voice called out, and Hermione's heart was thundering so hard now, she wondered briefly if Fleur and Bill on the Thestral next to them could hear it.

"On the count of three. One…Two…THREE."

Hermione let out a small whimper and clenched her eyes shut as a deafening roar came from the bike nearby which Hagrid was on, and her Thestral leapt soundlessly into the air. Her quaking thighs did their best to grip onto the sides of the Thestrals, while her feet tried to find a secure place to lock onto behind the Thestral's moving wing joint. Hooking an arm around Kingsley's waist, her wand in the other hand, she tried to steady herself, when she sensed a sudden shift in the air. Hermione's eyes shot wide open, as shock and fear pulsed through her.

Thirty-odd dark hooded figures had seemingly materialised and surrounded them within seconds. Mind whirring into action, Hermione cast her eyes around to quickly take in her own, and then everyone else's circumstances.

Barely had she time for a thought to flit across her mind, 'No! They could not have known of this mission! A decoy had even been planted!'

Not even a few seconds passed, before the night sky burst into a cacophony of whizzing lights and loud yells.

All sense of worry over her own safety gone now, Hermione's wand became a blur as she frantically drew up shields to deflect the oncoming spells, and did her best to send a " _Stupefy_ " whenever she could to the three Death Eaters on her tail.

"All right, Hermione? Just keep at it, I'll get us out of here, hang on-", came Kingsley's usually smooth, baritone voice, now rough with stress.

"I'm fine," Hermione barely managed to get out breathlessly.

One of her spells finally hit a Death Eater, and he was falling away from them, even as the other two put more effort into catching up to them, then abruptly melted into the darkness away from them.

Confused, Hermione noticed a sudden flurry of spells in her peripheral vision and turning slightly towards that direction, she witnessed with wide-eyed horror, Voldemort himself flying through the air like some vengeful demon right towards who she knew was the real Harry in the sidecar with Hagrid. Kingsley was urging for her to keep focused, and as the pair furthest away from the main fighting, his first priority was to get them out of there as quickly as possible. Her mouth opened to scream for Harry-

" _NO!_ ", came the much higher-pitched, anger-filled cry of Voldemort.

And they never noticed the two stray spells colliding and merging into one bright purple spell, heading straight for Hermione's back and forcefully knocking her off the Thestral.

Horrified, Kingsley felt the shift in balanced, and jerked the Thestral in a dive towards her, hand outstretched, and almost managed to grasp at her arm.

" _HERMIONE!_ " Kingsley bellowed, as her unconscious form suddenly crumpled in on itself. Like a star that fizzled out when she should have been able to live her life with vivacity and a bang, she merely winked out of existence, and all that was left was the darkness of night, and the lost hearts of those who felt her loss keenly within their hearts after.

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 **AN: Hi~ Nice to meet any of you who might (somehow) have interest in my story :) I couldn't hold it in anymore and just _had_ to show some my love for my boys. It's my first time writing a whole story instead of keeping short snippets to myself though, so...I will do my best to keep it up haha (while I struggle with not dying in uni). **


	2. Griseo Ignotum

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Harry Potter world, unfortunately, but I'm still waiting for my letter to Hogwarts *squints at the sky*...or maybe to Mahoutokoro since it's closer. Hm.**

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 **Chapter 2 : Griseo Ignotum**

With a huge gasp of air, Hermione jolted awake and felt strangely light. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to regulate her breathing and assess her current situation. Frowning, the last thing she could recall was a harsh impact to the middle of her back, and a feeling of dread as she vaguely felt herself slipping off the Thestral's side and losing her consciousness. Other than a dull throbbing where she had felt the impact and a pounding in her head, however, she seemed to be relatively unhurt anywhere else.

Slightly calmer, she cautiously opened her eyes to her surroundings, and her eyes widened. She was suspended mid-air, in a space that seemed to have no beginning and no end. A strange kind of mist hung over the place, and shrouded anything past her outstretched arm. Hermione turned in all directions, trying to see something, anything, that would inform her location. The mist shifted and occasional splashes of colours flashed quickly by, as though she were travelling quickly through space, but not feeling as if she had moved at all. She tried all sorts of ways to move, to touch something, just so she would not feel like she were in a limbo. Walking, running, swimming, pushing, kicking, screaming, sobbing. Her feet could never touch a ground, if there even was one, and her hands could grasp onto nothing of substance.

How long Hermione remained in that space was uncertain, for there was no indication of day, of night, of time. Desperation had at first crept up on her, gripping her tightly within its claws, but then she gradually grew used to it, and then numb. The mist remained the same; the only movements in that space were the inexplicable colours and herself.

Finally — if there was even a concept of time in this wretched, unrelenting space! — Hermione grew restless, and warily extended her hand toward a particularly bright section of colours that had been dancing near her head for a while. Curiosity overcame her, and she gently touched it. Her fingers encountered a kind of barrier, almost as though touching jelly, before it melted away and the colours became even more vibrant, shimmering and shyly reaching out to her, like it was assessing her, before wrapping around her wrist like a whisper. Hermione was fascinated, but before she could inspect any further, she was jerked forwards by the light now firmly wrapped around her wrist, and then she was again falling —falling straight into the light and colours, which was now predominantly various shades of green, now expanding, growing, and engulfing her. She clenched her eyes shut, waiting and almost anticipating some form of impact, some feeling, after the dull mundanity of the grey space.

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 **A/N: sorry my chapters tend to be short right now haha. I'm still not used to writing any long prose except stupid 3k long essays but that's another thing altogether. I was so surprised and happy yesterday when I saw there were actually people nice enough to read my nonsense HAHA thank you I love you all. ╰(*´︶`*)╯ sorry if I disappoint, I'll try to post soon~**

 **On another note, I got so caught up in this scene that I completely missed my train stops by 3 stops haha rip me**


	3. Amissa Anima Mea

**Disclaimer: Nothing of Harry Potter is mine, unfortunately. I want to see Sirius and Draco irl tho :')**

Special thanks to LuV3nZbLu-hIm3 for your encouragement the last time! :)

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 **Chapter 3 : Amissa Anima Mea**

Hermione felt like she was falling for an eternity, being sucked into that swirl of colours, when abruptly the world around her came into focus. She briefly glimpsed a ring of trees towering above her, when she crashed harshly into the ground, and was knocked out.

'That many impacts to my head can't be good,' were the first thoughts that came to mind when she next blearily opened her eyes. Squinting through the bright light that came streaming through the huge windows to her right, she sat up gingerly. Her body was aching all over, and felt extremely sore, even though she was lying on the softest bed she had ever felt. Her head was throbbing with an occasional sharp stabbing sensation behind her eyes that made her wince every time.

Groaning, she shifted herself carefully so she could lean against the headboard. Slowly surveying the room, she was surprised to see it was very well kept, with warm tones and grains of the pale wood furniture contrasting beautifully against the whitewashed walls and marble floor. Two sets of doors were placed on either side of the bed she was currently on, and the windows she had noted earlier were framed by translucent day curtains and soft, pale blue curtains that were all elegantly swept to either side of the windows. A bay window seat that was plump with cushions sat in front of the window, and to the left was a beautifully carved walnut writing desk, that had phoenixes with their wings aflame, each adorning the end of a leg.

Hermione marvelled at such extravagance. She was sure this room could rival any of that in Grimmauld Place while in its former glory. Still, she had absolutely no idea where she could be.

'I gotta find Harry and the others,' she thought anxiously. As quietly as she could, she slowly made to slip out of bed to try and find an exit.

She had just barely made it to the edge of the bed when the door to the left opened suddenly, and there was a small figure silhouetted against the doorway. Tumbling to the ground in shock, she realised belatedly that the bed was much higher off the ground than she thought.

"MUM! COME QUICK SHE'S AWAKE!" The small person bellowed with the voice of a young boy.

Hermione panicked then, and with her heart thundering, she scrambled off the ground, ignoring her aching body, and darted towards the windows to escape from the strangers. Estimating that she was on the second floor, she hoped the windows weren't too high off the ground.

She had just unlatched the windows and was about to leap out of them, when a pair of large strong arms firmly hooked around her waist and pulled her back into a very large and firm body. She gasped breathlessly as the air was knocked out of her with the impact.

"Hey hey, calm down, we aren't going to hurt you," a deep bass voice soothed her.

Hermione whipped around, figuring her chance of escaping was busted for now, and looked up at the man who had stopped her from leaping out of the window. He towered above her, with a fit physique and an expansive chest. His brunette hair stuck up every which way, his hazel eyes were gentle and had many laugh lines around them. His mouth was turned up slightly at the corners and smiling at her.

Behind him was a lady and the small figure she had seen earlier. The lady, Hermione decided, was elegance personified. She had a tall, willowy figure, and stood with such poise, as though she were born with it. Her skin looked so smooth and clear that Hermione wondered if she modelled for skincare products. Her curly, midnight black hair was piled artfully atop her head that it almost resembled a crown. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched, with gentle silver eyes were clear and light seemed to reflect brilliantly off them, and she had a slender nose and beautiful Cupid's bow lips.

Her left hand rested on the shoulder of a familiar boy who had wild jet black hair that seemed to defy gravity.

"Harry!" Hermione cried with relief and launched herself at the boy, hugging him tightly. But, it felt wrong. Different, somehow. It was the same sense of comfort, of belonging, that Harry always conveyed, but it was definitely different. The boy awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, but as her mind caught up with her actions, Hermione froze, realising several things at once. She leaned back slightly and scrutinised the boy. He had beautiful clear hazel eyes that sparkled with mischief and laughter, and his eyebrows were currently furrowed with obvious worry for her and his confusion as well. But above these, what befuddled Hermione the most, was that he looked to be about nine years of age. And yet, he was just slightly taller than her!

"Uh, I'm not sure who Harry is…but I'm James…" the boy trailed off awkwardly, but pulled up a hesitant smile for her.

Hermione did a double take. Her mind swirled with such confusion and her thoughts were racing a mile a minute.

The lady must have interpreted the look on Hermione's face, for she spoke gently, as if soothing a bewildered animal.

"Dear child, we're not sure what has happened to you, but we found you unconscious at the edge of our orchard. Do you…do you remember what happened before that?"

Hesitantly, because while her battle-honed mind screamed at her not to trust strangers, her instincts pushed her to relate, with barely much information, the circumstances which led her to where she currently was. With the recounting of her memories, Hermione was analysing all the information, and was beginning to have a terrible sinking feeling of understanding what had happened.

She had felt horribly uncomfortable in her body, and she realised that it was not due to her injuries but the fact that she had — as she noticed earlier in the grey space — shrunk. In age and size. And if the boy, who resembled so much like Harry, was indeed not Harry, but a boy named James, her mind could only come to one reasonable conclusion.

She had gone back in time.

And overwhelmed, Hermione felt like crying.

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 **A/N: Sooooooo sorry I haven't updated in so long aaaaaaa. The last few (?) weeks have been filled with submissions and exams ugh. Also, small rant but I got paired up (the teacher** **randomly assigned us) with the worst guy in my class for pair-work oral test. Idk if my grades have been pulled down by him, I wanted to cry when I saw who I was paired with sigh :'(**

 **But anyway! I'm excited for my upcoming exchange program to Japan in a few weeks time :) Really looking forward~ Also, yes, I will try to update as frequently as I can :)**

 **Love you all~ thanks for reading my small nonsense haha**


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